Hindus wouldn't have survived under Mughal rule if Muslims had opposed: Ex-Judge

If Muslims had opposed Hindus during the Mughal rule not a single Hindu would have been left in India...they could have killed all Hindus. Though they ruled over for hundreds of years, why Muslims remain a minority —Ex judge Vasantha Mulasavalagi

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A retired district judge from Karnataka, Vasantha Mulasavalagi drew the ire of the right wing on Thursday by claiming that Hindus would have gone extinct had the medieval Muslim ruling class, especially the Mughals, wished it.

Mulasavalagi went on to point out that the Places of worship Act ensured that the religious character of temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras and the like would be maintained as per the status quo on August 15, 1947, India’s independence day.

However, that hadn’t happened, which legitimised construction of the Ram Mandir on the ruins of the Babri mosque. Subsequently, the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi is also being claimed by certain Hindu groups. He also called Hindu deities that appeared in Mahabharata and Ramayana mythological, further inflaming conservative sentiments.

The judge made the comments in Vijayapura city during a talk entitled “Have objectives of the Constitution been fulfilled?” which was organised by Rashtriya Souharda Vedike and other organisations on Thursday. Since then videos of the comments have been widely circulated.

“If Muslims had opposed Hindus during when the Mughals ruled, not even a single Hindu would have been left in India. They could have killed all Hindus. This is despite them ruling for hundreds of years. Why do Muslims remain a minority?” Mulasavalagi asked.

“Those who like to point that Muslims have done this, that and the other, should learn 700 years of history of Muslim rule in India,” he said. “Mughal Emperor Akbar’s wife remained a Hindu and was not compelled to convert to Islam. Akbar even built a Krishna temple in his courtyard. People can see this to this day,” he added.

‘Can’t change nature of place of worship’

Mulasavalagi said that the trend of claiming mosques as being temples despite no credible archeological evidence was worrisome. “There was a law in 1999 to maintain the status quo and keep the temples, churches, and mosques as they were.

Despite this, the district court has given contradicting verdicts in this regard,” he said. “In Uttarakhand, the images of Buddha were depicted on Shivling. Some Buddhists had filed a petition It is often repeated that temples have been converted into mosques. Before temples were built, Emperor Ashoka had built 84,000 Buddha viharas (monasteries).

Where did they go? It (conversion of Buddhist monasteries into Brahminic Hindu temples) had happened during the course of time. Can it be made a big issue?” Mulasavalagi asked. “The objectives of the Constitution are crystal clear. These suspicions are being created as the system is failing to fulfill the objectives of the Constitution. The young generation must be vigilant and active in this direction to end this,” he said.

‘Political candidates cannot change party after winning’ Arali Nagaraj, another retired judge opined that there should be an affidavit by all the candidates that after winning elections they won’t change their party. “There is a need for the formation of such a law. Before Independence, patriotism was at greater levels in the country. Presently, selfishness has taken over,” he added.